CAA: GA News, "Airports Less Active, More Cautious"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

hursday, September 12, 2002

Airports Less Active, More Cautious 
One Reclosed After Security Breach 
By Krissah Williams
The Washington (DC) Post


Local flight instructor Marcel Bernard is more cautious than he was a
year ago when a foreigner seeks to take flying lessons.

"Just for my own satisfaction and comfort level, anyone who is not a
U.S. citizen is required to provide a sponsor [who is a U.S. citizen] to
vouch for their intentions," said Bernard, chief flight instructor at
Freeway Airport in Bowie. "I don't want to step on anyone's human
rights, but I want to be clear . . . there is a responsibility with
this."

The terrorist attacks a year ago forever changed the way business is
conducted at Freeway Airport and the three other small, general aviation
airports in Prince George's County.

Closed immediately after the attacks, they gradually reopened, though
Washington Executive-Hyde Field Airport in Clinton reopened in March,
then was forced to close again in May because of security breaches.

Freeway, farthest from the District, has been open since December.
Because of its location, pilots there are largely exempt from tougher
regulations affecting airports closest to Washington. Still, officials
there estimated that they lost about $600,000 due to the closure.

Potomac Airfield in Fort Washington and College Park Airport reopened in
late February. Pilots and managers at those airports have had to comply
with strict procedures and guidelines. Written by the federal
Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the rules limit general
aviation airports within restricted airspace -- about 15 miles -- around
Washington.

At College Park and Potomac, the only pilots allowed to land must have
aircraft based at those airports and must have undergone FBI and Federal
Aviation Administration background checks and attended security
briefings. Pilots must also file a flight plan, something not previously
required, before takeoff.

The changes have eliminated use of either airport by pilots not
stationed permanently at them.

The cost has been high at College Park, which claims to be the country's
oldest continuously operating airport, while at Potomac, owner David
Wartofsky said the airfield has rebounded.

Sixty percent fewer aircraft are based at College Park, and fuel sales
have been cut in half. The number of flights in and out has dropped 89
percent. The aircraft maintenance business has departed. The annual air
show, which attracted thousands of spectators, has been canceled,
perhaps permanently.

The airport is owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning
Commission.

"We are continuing to dialogue with federal security folks with the hope
that these [regulations] can be relaxed a little bit or managed to
increase traffic," said Lee Schiek, airport manager. "Our biggest
concern is the lack of interest in our airport by federal decision
makers."

Wartofsky has had better luck. His airport was always home to a small
number of pilots, most of whom had security clearance or did not mind
flying in restricted airspace. "They aren't timid," he said.

The airport is between Andrews Air Force Base and Reagan National
Airport, so its airspace is busy. 

To lighten the mood, Wartofsky has taken to calling the airport "Airbase
Potomac" and put the "Mission Impossible" theme song on its Web site in
recognition of the federal regulations and security clearance
procedures.

"This is a new world order," he said.

Overall, Maryland's general aviation airports reported losing more than
$8 million because of regulations imposed after the terrorist attacks,
according to the Maryland Aviation Administration.

Bruce Marcus, a lawyer representing Nabil J. Asterbadi, owner of
Washington Executive-Hyde Field, said the airport is losing hundreds of
thousands of dollars.

The second closure occurred because the airport's security administrator
did not have proper clearance to oversee the airport security plan,
Marcus said. Airport staffers were then asked to submit a new plan,
which TSA approved. But the airport has not been allowed to reopen.

"We are currently working with Hyde to put into place measures so that
when they do reopen, TSA will have a high degree of confidence," said
TSA spokesman David Steigman. There is no deadline for reopening Hyde,
he said.

"Unfortunately, the owner of the airport, together with many of the
citizens who have used the airport, have been left in the lurch due to
lack of responsibility and decision making on the part of the agency,"
Marcus said.

Small-business owners and pilots at Hyde have turned to their
congressional representatives.

"It's an important local resource and part of our local economy," said
U.S. Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.), who sent TSA a letter urging that Hyde
be reopened.

"We need to get back to our pre-Sept. 11 economy," Wynn said.


   Post your opinion on this story in the CAA General Aviation Forum
http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID2

*****************************************